For Valentine’s Day every year for almost every year we have been together we go to Ocean City, Maryland for an extended weekend getaway and to reminisce about our childhood. As kids our families would take joint trips to Ocean City pretty frequently and often times we stayed at the Carousel Hotel, so where better to stay than at the hotel we used to run around and play elevator tag in as kids?
This year we were lucky that Valentine’s Day fell on a Friday and so we were able to spend Valentine’s Day itself at our favorite hotel in Ocean City! One of the most unique things about the Carousel that we love, other than the phenomenal staff, is the ice skating rink! Every other year, there were peewee hockey tournaments going on all weekend long that were always such a joy to watch.
Going to the beach during the off season is very therapeutic and always leaves us feeling so refreshed and more connected than ever. We always stay in the same room in the old section of the hotel on the fourth floor with a beautiful ocean view.
We left our house for the four hour drive early, early in the morning so that we would arrive in time for a delicious breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast spots – Bayside Skillet! Their omelettes and fresh squeezed orange juice are some of the best! But, trust us, those omelettes are SUPER filling! There is definitely no need for sides. The Bayside Skillet is such a cute place for breakfast and their crepes are a delicious add on to a very satisfying breakfast.
Once we settled into the hotel, we soaked in the view and relaxed for a while in our room before enjoying watching the sunset from our room as we got ready for our special Valentine’s Day dinner at the hotel. Yes, I did make Russ wear a matching pink shirt and yes, he hated it, but oh my goodness did he look hot! ā¤
We started dinner with some seared ahi tuna bites and some cocktails. I had a chocolate covered cherry martini with some steak topped with crab and hollandaise sauce and Russ had some delicious pork. After dinner, we made some cocktails in our room and headed down to the pool to enjoy some time in the hot tub. Something I do every year in honor of my dad is the polar bear plunge. Guys, the ocean water in February is FREEZING! But, when I was a kid and my dad and I were in OC one winter, we did it together and got clapped back as we ran back up the beach and to the hotel. So, of course my crazy self froze myself half to death and jumped in the ocean in the middle of the night and ran back to the hot tub – barely able to feel my legs – to warm back up.
That evening we enjoyed some chocolate covered strawberries with peanuts that I got from a friend and watched RomComs. The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel where I had my typical mimosa and Eastern Shore Eggs Benedict and Russ got the buffet – we are very much creatures of habit with our Valentine’s Day trips. For lunch we went to the boardwalk and walked as far as we could before we got tired, stopping in a variety of shops along the way. Before leaving, we grabbed a huge tub of Thrasher’s Fries and chowed down, remembering all the times we got them as kids in-between the arcades and the beach.
For dinner that evening, we went to Harpoon Hannah’s and had the best meal we had the entire trip – we loved it so much that we recreated it as one of our Quarantine Cooking meals – steak and scallops! We were seated facing a window overlooking the harbor and instead of the usual bread basket, we received a variety basket full of flavored breads and muffins (the coconut muffins were amazing and we brought the leftovers back to the hotel with us for midnight snacks). We then received our Caesar salads, which were quite literally the best Caesar salads we have had. The steaks were so tender and the scallops cooked perfectly that our mouths were watering. The steaks were huge, so we had almost half of our steaks left for the next day.
Waking up the the sunrise over the beach and the calming sound of the waves breaking was so peaceful and something we wish we could wake up to every morning. After breakfast, we went for a walk along the beach, enjoying the feel of the cool sand between our toes and the sound of the waves. After our walk, we decided to drive around OC for a while before heading to Smitty McGee’s. Russ got his usual order of wings in a variety of flavors and I got a tenderloin sandwich and a crab pretzel – all of which were incredibly delicious.
For our final day in OC, we slept in and enjoyed the last few moments of peaceful bliss on the balcony before heading to Dumser’s to get some huge sundaes before heading home, feeling incredibly refreshed and ready to handle what the rest of 2020 would throw our way.
Dreamers on the Go 